Muncie boy gave 700+ books to Flint, Mich

Princeton Young and his family member Langston Balfour pose with an employee of the Holmes Early Childhood program in Flint, Mich after delivering more than 700 books.(Photo: Photo provided by Dea Young)

MUNCIE — When fifth-grader Princeton Young decided to take books to Flint, Mich, his goal was to gather up 100 books to deliver to students to the north.

But when he arrived on Tuesday, he had 783 books in tow.

After The Star Press wrote about Princeton, he and his mother got an email from Aaron and Jodie Stults, who live in Fishers. They told Princeton's mom, Dea, that their own mother is a retired teacher, so they had tons of books to donate.

Dea met up with them Monday night and loaded as many books as she could into her car. They ended up adding more than 500 books to the 264 Princeton and Dea had already collected.

They would have taken more, Dea said, but they needed room to sit in the car during the four-hour trip to Flint.

Princeton, a fifth-grader at Longfellow Elementary, started a book drive after the superintendent of Flint Community Schools told him the district was in need of books. He originally reached out to try to help get them water, after hearing about the water crisis.

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Fifth-grader Princeton Young wanted to help out, so he asked the schools in Flint what they need.

But children in Flint have been exposed to lead, so the schools will need extra resources to help them.

The Detroit Free Press reported earlier this month that children exposed to lead in the water supply have a greater chance of having academic difficulties. Already, nearly 15 percent of the 5,400 children in Flint Schools have special needs, and 22 percent of those have a cognitive impairment, the Free Press reported.

After dropping off the books, Dea, Princeton and Dea's grandson, Langston Balfour, took a tour of the school. Dea said they talked about how some people are in different situations and need help.

Princeton said he didn't see any gross tap water, but he did see lots of water bottles.

"I thought it went well...It was a good experience," Princeton said. "(I heard) a lot of compliments and thank you's."